M&A Deal Summary

CD&R and Midwest Mezzanine Funds Acquire Culligan

On September 30, 2004, private equity firm CD&R and mezzanine finance firm Midwest Mezzanine Funds acquired consumer products company Culligan from Veolia Environnement for 610M USD

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is CD&R’s 1st and Midwest Mezzanine Funds’ 3rd transaction in the Consumer Products sector.
  • This is CD&R’s 26th and Midwest Mezzanine Funds’ largest (disclosed) transaction.
  • This is CD&R’s 8th and Midwest Mezzanine Funds’ 14th transaction in the United States.
  • This is CD&R’s 2nd and Midwest Mezzanine Funds’ 3rd transaction in Illinois.
Investment Fate
  • Culligan was sold to a consortium of financial buyers in 2012.
  • Culligan was sold to a consortium of financial buyers in 2016 for 915M USD.
  • Culligan was sold to a consortium of financial buyers in 2021.

M&A Deal Summary
Date 2004-09-30
Target Culligan
Sector Consumer Products
Buyer(s) CD&R
Midwest Mezzanine Funds
Sellers(s) Veolia Environnement
Deal Type Divestiture
Deal Value 610M USD

Target

Culligan

Rosemont, Illinois, United States
website
Culligan offers water softeners, filtration systems, industrial water treatment solutions, and drinking water systems. Culligan was founded in 1936 and is based in Rosemont, Illinois.

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Buyer(S) 2

Buyer

CD&R

New York, New York, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

website

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1978
PE ASSETS 30.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice LLC (CD&R) is a large private equity firm that targets non-core divestitures of large corporations, growth equity financings, traditional buyouts, and corporate/family partnerships. CD&R looks for opportunities in North America, Western Europe, and Asia and will consider businesses in a wide range of sectors including consumer/retail, healthcare, industrials, and services. Prospective companies generally lead their respective markets, have stable cash flows, and possess competitive advantages through differentiated products, services, or processes. CD&R was formed in 1978 and has offices in New York City and London.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 10 of 90
Sector (Consumer Products) 1 of 4
Type (Divestiture) 7 of 24
State (Illinois) 2 of 8
Country (United States) 8 of 65
Year (2004) 2 of 2
Size (of disclosed) 26 of 32
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2004-02-16 VWR International

Radnor, Pennsylvania, United States

VWR International LLC is a distributor of products, services and solutions to laboratory and production facilities. VWR enables science for customers in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, industrial, education, government and healthcare industries.

Buy $1.7B
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2005-03-18 Rexel

Paris, France

Rexel is a distributor of electrical parts and supplies. The Company supplies customers involved in residential, commercial and industrial construction, maintenance and renovation and currently has a network of approximately 1,700 branches in 29 countries, providing over 1.2 million products and related services. Rexel was founded in 1967 and is based in Paris, France.

Buy -
Buyer

Midwest Mezzanine Funds

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

website

Category Mezzanine Finance Firm
Founded 1992
PE ASSETS 1.0B USD
Size Middle-Market
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Midwest Mezzanine Funds (MMF) is a provider of junior capital to lower middle-market, US and Canadian companies. MMF looks to invest $4 to $15 million to support buyouts, acquisition financings, recapitalizations, and growth capital needs. Prospective companies generally have consistent profits ($3 million of EBITDA), low capital intensity, and sustainable competitive advantages. Broad areas of interest include manufacturing, value-added distribution, and services. MMF will not invest in high technology, energy, or real estate. Midwest Mezzanine was formed in 1992 and has offices in Chicago and Monroe, Michigan.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 14 of 82
Sector (Consumer Products) 3 of 8
Type (Divestiture) 2 of 3
State (Illinois) 3 of 9
Country (United States) 14 of 82
Year (2004) 3 of 3
Size (of disclosed) 1 of 2
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2004-07-06 Vista International Packaging

Kenosha, Wisconsin, United States

Vista International Packaging LLC is a provider of artificial casings and film packaging products to a variety of specialty and broad-line food customers in the meat processing industry.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2005-02-09 Syron Engineering & Manufacturing

Saline, Michigan, United States

Syron Engineering & Manufacturing LLC is a designer and manufacturer of proprietary material handling and sensing devices used primarily within the sheet metal operations of automotive OEMs and suppliers.

Sell -

Seller(S) 1

SELLER

Veolia Environnement

Aubervilliers, France

website

Category Company
Founded 1853
Sector Consumer Services
Employees171,450
Revenue 42.9B EUR (2022)
DESCRIPTION

Veolia Environnement Industrial Services has been providing industrial cleaning, mechanical and maintenance services and environmental waste management solutions. Our staff of 4,200 work to provide solutions to the refining, chemical, power, metal, auto, paper industries and municipal sectors in over 70 locations across the US and Canada. Veolia Environnement was founded in 1853 and is based in Aubervilliers, France.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 1 of 6
Sector (Consumer Products) 1 of 1
Type (Divestiture) 1 of 6
State (Illinois) 1 of 1
Country (United States) 1 of 4
Year (2004) 1 of 1
Size (of disclosed) 1 of 5
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2001-01-01 Domeo SAS

Lyon, France

Domeo SAS engages in the provision of insured home emergency policies in France with 890,000 customers and 2.3m policies. The company was incorporated in 2001 and is based in Lyon, France.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2007-04-27 SULO Group

Australia

SULO was the second largest waste collection service provider in Germany.

Buy €1.5B
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